Credit card readers are required in a large number of situations, such as when paying for fuel at a fuel dispenser, an Automated Teller Machine (ATM), or in a retail setting. A card reader allows a customer to pay more efficiently without having to hand a credit card over to an employee or, in some situations like at a fuel dispenser or an ATM, even interact with an employee. Card readers can be manual or motorized. Manual card readers require the user to insert a credit card into the card reader and then pull it back out. A motorized card reader accepts a credit card into a card slot from a user, and the reader has rubber wheels that draw the card inside. The user thus has control over the credit card when using a manual card reader, and the card reader itself has control over the credit card when a user is interacting with a motorized card reader. Often a motorized card reader is secured so it will not be possible to access the components of the reader without breaking a tamper switch. This extra security helps to protect credit cards used in the motorized card reader, but a motorized card reader is often more difficult and expensive to maintain because of the increased complexity of the reader. A manual card reader is often less expensive to maintain because of the lack of any motorized components to accept the card. Moreover, a user will always have physical control of the card thus preventing the risk of the card becoming stuck in the reader.
One drawback with both manual and automatic card readers is that they can be susceptible to skimming. This is especially problematic with magnetic stripes, which are commonly used on credit cards and other cards and which are vulnerable to being read or accessed by a third party monitoring the card reader through a variety of different techniques.
Recently, many credit cards have started to include a microchip and pin system to circumvent the vulnerabilities of traditional magnetic stripe use. These cards are often referred to as “chip cards” or “smart cards.” In order to accommodate the use of a chip card, many readers now accept both types of payment (chip and magnetic stripe). Card readers in retail locations often include a slot for slidably receiving a magnetic stripe and a separate slot for insertably receiving a chip. Customers are often unfamiliar with the potential problems of using a magnetic stripe on their credit cards and are not yet accustomed to using the chip reader. Customers are thus likely to use the slot for the magnetic stripe even though their card contains a chip. Card readers in fuel dispensers or other outdoor locations, on the other hand, often have a single slot used for both a magnetic stripe and a chip. Once a card is passed through the magnetic stripe reader, it is susceptible to being “skimmed.” “Skimmers” are small devices that can scan and store credit card data from the magnetic stripe. They are often placed on ATMs or even held in the hand of someone nearby. When a credit card is run through a skimmer, the device stores the credit card information. Thieves can use the stolen data to make fraudulent charges either online or with a counterfeit credit card.
Accordingly, there remains a need for methods and devices for preventing skimming of cards in a card reader.